WILMINGTON — About 42 or 43 percent of eligible Clinton Countians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, figures the county health commissioner.
That informed estimate is based on the precise number of local individuals who have at least started with a first dose, and then taking into consideration that children younger than 12 are not currently eligible for a COVID vaccine.
The specific percentage of Clinton County’s total population, including those under 12, who have had at least a first dose stood at 37.1 percent on Monday morning, said Clinton County Health Commissioner Pam Bauer at the monthly meeting of the local board of health.
Among Clinton Countians, 15,577 people have had at least one dose, she reported.
Five weeks ago, the percentage of the total Clinton County population that had received at lease one dose was 34.7 percent; thus during that time span there’s been a 2.4 percentage point increase in vaccinations among the entire population.
During the past couple weeks, active COVID cases have been running somewhere between 30 and 40, said Bauer.
“We haven’t seen [active case] numbers this low since the first or second week of September,” she said. By way of contrast, Clinton County had almost 800 active cases right before Christmas.
Clinton County Health District’s (CCHD) Medical Director Dr. Terry Holten spoke about studies that look at the rate of infection for those who have been vaccinated (commonly called breakthrough cases), as well as the rate of reinfection for people who already have had COVID.
The study on breakthrough infections — conducted during the first four months of this year — shows 0.01 percent of vaccinated people getting infected by the coronavirus which causes COVID-19. Although this likely is an under-count because not all infections get reported since infected people can be without symptoms, the tiny percentage is impressive.
“That [0.01 percent] sounds pretty darn good to me,” Holten said.
As for two reports on reinfection rates, they indicate a 0.3 percent rate of reinfection for those who previously had COVID, she said.
According to a reinfection study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a person who has not previously been infected by the coronavirus is basically about 10 times more likely to get infected than those who already have been infected.
“To me, the take-home [message] is if you haven’t been vaccinated, if you haven’t had a prior infection, you’re about 10 times more likely to get infected,” the medical director said.
Holten said she wished we in Clinton County were further along in getting vaccinated.
The danger with the Delta variant of COVID-19, first identified in India, is that it’s a lot more transmissible, she said.
“So, if you get a large group of people who are not vaccinated, and one or more happens to have the Delta variant, it’s much more quickly spread,” said Dr. Holten.
CCHD Director of Nursing Monica Wood said the county health department continues holding COVID vaccination clinics at its 111 South Nelson Avenue location in Suite 1 of the County Annex building. This week and through the end of July, these afternoon Walk-In Clinics will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
All three brands of COVID vaccines are available at these clinics while supplies last.
While walk-ins are welcome, so are scheduled appointments. To book an appointment online visit co.clinton.oh.us/departments/HealthDistrict or you can call 937-382-3829.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.
